Previews

XCOM DLC Detected: Slingshot to Tackle UFOs Over China

"Slingshot" is a reference to the biblical tale of David and Goliath, in which [Spoiler Alert] underdog David takes down the giant Goliath by throwing a rock at his head and then decapitating him while he's down. In the first chunk of XCOM DLC, we'll be given the opportunity to go Old Testament on a massive alien ship hovering over China in a three-mission story arc with a potentially rich reward at the end.

"I hope you like my face, 'cause you aren't changing it."

The first two of the three Slingshot missions will take place on the ground in China, on identifiably Chinese maps. These will be the first XCOM maps that aren't geographically ambiguous, which is a great step forward in making it feel like we're actually responding to a crisis in China rather than Montana. Sadly, Firaxis tells me these maps won't pop up elsewhere in random encounters due to a commitment to not repeating maps in a single game.

Dissent in the Ranks

Also, for the first time in XCOM there'll be a named character on the tactical field (other than VIPs in escort missions) who you won't be able to rename or customize his look due to his unique face and voice actor. All we know about him at this stage is that he'll be a Chinese Triad gang member who'll be a VIP in the first stage of Slingshot, but will then join XCOM as a mortal, disposable Heavy with greater-than-normal stats (but no unique abilities).

When Slingshot's missions are all over, you'll earn a shortcut through the tech tree that'll allow you to research the powerful Blaster Launcher and Fusion Lance technologies -- they'll still be very expensive to research and build, but you won't have to shoot down an alien battleship to get them. I think that's a good thing, as in the normal campaign the Blaster Launcher only becomes available in the leadup to the final mission, which only gives us a few missions to mess around with it before the end. Firaxis says it's not expected to unbalance players' progress, since going in early will be risky move with a big payoff, and going in late will be a cakewalk for a reward you'd have gotten soon anyway.

New Look

While there won't be any new equipment, abilities, or aliens added, there will be alternate looks for Titan, Ghost, Archangel, and Psi armors, plus additional hairstyles and helmets to give your squads a little more visual variety. Unfortunately you won't be able to take that Chinese voice and apply it to other Chinese soldiers, as it's too specific to his character. Firaxis says it's aware of gamers' desire for accented voices for each of the countries involved, but because of the logistics involved it's not something it's planning on right now.

Skull helmet! That'll creep out those aliens real good.

Don't get me wrong: having now logged over 100 hours of XCOM and completed my first Classic Iron Man playthrough, I'm definitely looking forward to trying out these missions. However, I have to say I'm disappointed in the direction Firaxis is taking in expanding XCOM with Slingshot. Sure, this content will be interesting to play through at least a few times, but this is clearly not designed with replayability in mind. Where I'd hoped XCOM would expand in breadth by adding more content that would randomly occur in the campaign, such as extra maps, technologies, and aliens, this expands it as a more linear game with an event that will become available in the same way, each and every time I play. Considering that Council Missions are already the most scripted part of XCOM, and thus the part that becomes predictable and uninteresting the fastest... well, let's just say I'm hopeful that the next piece of DLC will be something that sounds like it'll make XCOM less predictable and more replayable and less like a tacked-on handful of missions that'll get old after a few runs.

Hey, what's going on? I can't read that writing!

Furthermore, I'm not wild about the the idea of shoehorning in a static character. I loudly applauded Firaxis for allowing me to name and shape my squad as I saw fit in the stock game, but this Triad guy goes against that. Sure, I don't have to take him on any missions at all after that first one, but dangling an innately superior Heavy in front of me feels like I'm being bribed to use him in place of my own characters.

'Bout time we got a change of scenery.

We shall see, when I get a chance to play it... a date which which, by the way, we don't know yet. 2K has yet to announce the release date for Slingshot, or the price. Of course, considering the preorder bonus DLC, which allows you to customize your soldiers' armor colors (plus adds the classic absurd flattop hairstyle and bonus helmets) will soon go on sale for $5, I'll be surprised if the price for Slingshot is anything other than $10.

What are your thoughts on this DLC, and your hopes for XCOM's future? Before you say "fix the bugs," I asked, and Firaxis says a bugfix patch is in the works and coming soon.